


Trills and Tribble-ations

by LtReginaBarclay



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Episode: s05e06 Trials and Tribble-ations, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Mentions Miles/Keiko, Tribbles (Star Trek)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 03:44:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2334023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LtReginaBarclay/pseuds/LtReginaBarclay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The combination of Jadzia Dax, tribbles, and science is one that the residents of DS9 are fairly sure they could have done without.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trills and Tribble-ations

**Author's Note:**

> Serious thanks to awanderingmuse for the beta and always excellent advice! I couldn't write a thing without her, she's the best. Even if she does try to take away my fragments.  
> (Less serious) thanks to my tribble Norvo for keeping me company while writing, your soft fluffiness is inspiring.

“Jadzia, did you-? Oh my.” Julian’s eyes widened as he looked around the lab. There were tribbles meticulously arranged by colour around the room.

“Is that you Julian?” Jadzia poked her head out from storage, with a ginger tribble purring on her shoulder.

“I uh, was just wondering if you were the one who raided my infirmary for DNA sequencers. But Dax, there are _tribbles_ in here.”

“Sorry- I should have asked, shouldn’t I? And I know there are tribbles in here Julian, I’m studying them!”

“I just thought—didn’t Captain Sisko order all tribbles captured and removed from the station?”

“Yes, but Odo’s deputies missed a few in the Jefferies tubes. Rather than letting them multiply until they take over the Promenade again, I thought I’d do some research.”

“And I suppose you asked the Captain for permission to conduct this research- Just as you asked mine before borrowing half my equipment?”

Jadzia pet the cooing tribble on her shoulder, “Well, not exactly… but this isn’t Starfleet research I’m doing, it’s personal interest! And it’s not as though tribbles are any kind of restricted species…”

The doctor rolled his eyes, “Of course they’re not restricted, everyone still thinks they’re extinct!”

“You see my point then?”

Julian sighed and tapped his combadge, “Bashir to Captain Sisko.”

“Sisko here.”

“Captain, you may wish to pay the Biological Research Lab a visit.”

“Any particular reason doctor?” the Captain’s voice asked.

“I really think it best you see for yourself, sir.”

“On my way.”

Jadzia glared at the young officer, “Spoilsport.”

He threw his hands up in the air, “I’m just following regulations! No unregulated breeding of creatures on Deep Space Nine.”

“It’s not unregulated! I’m extremely careful!” Jadzia fetched a tribble from the shelf and passed it to Julian, “Here, you can pet this one while we wait for Sisko.”

“What’s it named?” he joked.

Jadzia smiled wickedly, “Joran.”

* * *

 

The lab door slid open to admit Captain Benjamin Sisko, who was not in the mood to deal with the scene that greeted him—two of his senior officers surrounded by tribbles. Tribbles that had been an absolute headache before they were removed from the station. “Just what, precisely, is going on here?” he asked, eyes sweeping the room before settling on Julian.

“It wasn’t me sir.” Julian protested.

The captain turned to face his science officer, “Dax? Would you like to explain why there are still tribbles on my station?”

“I found them in the Jefferies tubes, and we all know what happens when tribbles are left to their own devices. So, I brought them here?”

“You could have brought them to my office, Commander. Are you looking for another visit from Temporal Investigations? As I recall, they didn’t find you particularly funny Old Man.”

“I’m controlling their population carefully, Benjamin! They won’t escape from my lab.”

“What are they even _doing_ in your lab?”

“I’m a scientist Benjamin, I’m _studying them_. And this research may very well come in useful when it comes to keeping their new planet’s ecosystem healthy. I’ve got all the research done by Dr. McCoy and the Klingons. So it’s not as though I’m ill prepared, and I…”

“All right Dax, you’ve made your point. Just what kind of research are you doing?”

“Well, I’ve already made careful study of nutritional access as a variable in reproductive rates.”

“You’ve calculated how to feed tribbles in a way that doesn’t lead to overpopulation?” Sisko clarified.

“Exactly.” Jadzia replied.

“Good. Any other projects?”

“Well, now I’m doing a genetic analysis of fur and hue inheritance in tribbles. With the goal of being able to control and expand the number of possibilities…”

“Excuse me?” Sisko interrupted.

“She is, ah, trying to figure out how to make tribbles in different colours, sir.” Julian supplied.

“I understood that Doctor, thank you. What I do not understand is why my science officer has been using the station’s lab equipment to breed novelty pets without clearance!”

“They aren’t novelty pets Benjamin! I’m trying to resurrect the pink variety that emerged after the events at Deep Space Station K-7! Since we obviously couldn't bring any back, I thought I’d see if I could breed or genetically engineer a pink tribble myself!”

She picked up ‘Joran’ from the table Julian had hastily placed him on, and tried to hand him to the Captain, “Look! I’ve already managed to produce tribbles with black fur!”

Sisko once again had to resist the urge to court martial his old friend. Tribbles. They’d been nothing but a nuisance since they’d been beamed aboard the Defiant, and now she was trying to make them pink. He should have left the damn things in the past where they belonged.

“Dax…” He began exasperatedly. “Just make sure they stay contained, alright?” He sighed in defeat.

She grinned, “Yes, sir!”

* * *

 

“What is that **_smell_**?” Worf growled as his lips left Jadzia’s.

“Eight lifetimes, but that’s a new one.” She raised her eyebrow at him. “You did smell this perfume before you bought it for me, didn’t you? I would have assumed it agreed with you.”

“Not the perfume, something else…” he sniffed the air, her shoulder, and then her wrist. “Ugh!”

His hand flew to his combadge, “Worf to Odo”

“This is Odo. How can I help you, Commander?”

“Worf, what are doing?” Jadzia asked.

“There are tribbles on the station, Constable. A nest of them at least, in proximity of Jadzia’s lab or quarters. I suggest we take a team of…”

“Commander, I am aware of the presence of tribbles on the station, I was informed by Captain Sisko this morning.” Odo interrupted. “I suggest you speak with Commander Dax about the matter, as they are in fact _her_ tribbles.”

Worf turned to Jadzia, “ _Your_ tribbles?”

“I was going to tell you over dinner, I didn’t realize you’d be able to smell them if I didn’t take a sonic shower first. I assumed a thorough hand washing and change of clothes would be enough.”

“What are you doing with tribbles?!”

“Experiments.” Jadzia replied innocently. “I’m trying to bring back the pink ones.”

She could see Worf attempting to suppress centuries of instinctual hatred for the furry creatures, and did her best to contain her laughter. “Should I step in the sonic shower before dinner?”

* * *

 

The number of tribbles Jadzia was keeping had grown rather large. They had moved from the lab into her quarters, and then into those of a rather reluctant chief medical officer. There were now tribbles with black fur, spotted fur, red fur, yellow fur, and blue fur in addition to the species natural colours. She had also managed to control fur length, texture, and density… but had yet to produce a pink tribble.

The solution finally came to her in Ops, while doing routine scans of the wormhole.

“You’re looking cheery today Chief,” Julian called as he stepped out of the turbolift, “I thought you’d be more upset about losing the extra holodeck time we’ve had again.”

“Julian…” Miles warned.

“I know, I know. She’s your _wife_. And I can only fill in for a few days before you start missing her.”

“Julian!”

“I don’t suppose she’ll be attending any more botanical conferences on Bajor for a while, the baby getting so close. Face it Miles, our time together is about to become much scarcer…” Julian sighed theatrically and hurried up to Captain Sisko’s office before Miles could locate any hyperspanners to throw at him.

“What time does Keiko’s transport get in Chief?” Jadzia asked.

The irritation on the engineer’s face faded at her question. “Nineteen Hundred Hours.”

Jadzia nodded. With Keiko back on the station, Jadzia was sure she could solve more than her problem with tribble pelt pigmentation.

* * *

 

“Well, are my quarters habitable again?” Jadzia asked.

The tribbles were back in the lab, and she’d given every surface a thorough cleaning before inviting Worf back. Nevertheless, he might have been described as uneasy as he walked in—were he not a Klingon.

Sitting on her couch, Jadzia held out her wrist. “How do I smell now?”

Worf took her hand and sat beside her, “Beautiful.”

Jadzia smiled, “I’m so glad to hear you say that. Care to meet my secret? Close your eyes.”

“Jadzia…”

“Come on, Worf. For me?” She pleaded.

After he had reluctantly closed his eyes, she leaned over the end table beside her, opened a drawer and produced a tribble. It was a pretty pink with dense, silky fur. She held it up to his nose where it purred, and gave off a scent of Bajoran roses. “Keiko helped me work out the details, she’s an excellent geneticist.”

Worf opened his eyes and leapt away from the couch in disgust, “Is that a **_tribble_**?”

“I told you I was trying to make pink ones! And Keiko helped me add in a few extra genes so that the smell doesn't bother you! Then I raised it from birth in a tank with one of your sweaty shirts, so it isn’t afraid of you either. See? Still purring.”

“Jadzia these are mortal enemies of the Klingon Empire! And you’ve been breeding them and making them smell like… flowers.”

Jadzia smirked at the horror in his voice, “Do you think they’ll write an opera about me? I’d love to be a villainess. Or maybe the heroine, bringing peace between the Empire and the tribbles at last… what do you think?”

 

FIN.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear I don't name all tribbles after murderers. Only two and a third of a pair. 
> 
> Quoting Memory Alpha's tribble article " According to the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual, the mutual dislike between Klingons and tribbles has to do with the fact that both species have keen senses of smell, and apparently, each found the "stench" of the other extremely unpleasant. Tribbles also found food using their sense of smell."


End file.
